Under the Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act , New Jersey patients diagnosed with a terminal illness and expecting to die within six months would be permitted to obtain medication they could self-administer to kill themselves "in a humane and dignified manner."

"People have the right to self — determination from the beginning of their life to the end of it," said Assemblyman Herb Conaway (D-Burlington), the committee's chairman and a physician.

Still, nearly two dozen opponents, including disabled people, warned that the measure provided "an open invitation to abuse."

Even two supporters of the legislation said they had concerns about protection for people with disabilities and would look for future amendments.

Dawn Teresa Parkot delivered her testimony through electronically by an audio device. Brain injured at birth, she said doctors advised her parents she would be "a mindless vegetable ... lucky to survive to age 5."

But the 42-year-old Morristown woman became a Notre Dame honors graduate with bachelor's degrees in computers science and engineering, a software tester, and founder of a nonprofit that educates the public that "the extremely disabled can have a full, successful, busy, joyful and meaningful life."

She said people in extreme pain can be treated and should be given the opportunity to change their minds.

"Let's get truthful: This bill is not about 'death with dignity,'" Parkot said. "Often patients are misdiagnosed and could make a irreversible decision to die based on the wrong information."